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Americans See U.S. Foreign Policy As Major Reason for Negative Muslim Opinion of United States

by David W. Moore

Value differences between the United States and Muslim countries seen as less important

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- According to the most recent Gallup poll of the
American public, most residents believe that people in Muslim
countries have an unfavorable view of the United States, and that
this negative view is mostly influenced by Muslim perceptions of
U.S. foreign policy and less so by Muslim perceptions of U.S.
values. Especially salient, according to the American public, is
the Muslim perception that the United States is unfair in the
conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis. A Gallup survey of
nine predominantly Islamic countries reinforces this assessment, as
very few residents of any of the countries surveyed indicate that
the United States is even-handed toward the Palestinians.

The Gallup poll in the United States was conducted March 1-3 and
shows that 63% of Americans say a major reason why Muslims are
unfavorable toward the United States is their belief that this
country favors Israel too much in that country's conflict with Arab
nations. Another major reason, according to 62% of the American
public, is that Muslims perceive the United States as interfering
too much in the affairs of Muslim countries. Just over half of
Americans, 51%, believe that Muslim perceptions that the United
States is too willing to use military force in Muslim countries are
also a major reason for Muslim negative feelings toward this
country.

Perceived Reasons for Muslims'
Unfavorable Opinions of the U.S.

March 1-3, 2002

Farther down the list of major reasons why Americans think
Muslims are unfavorable toward the United States, each cited by 46%
of Americans, are Muslim perceptions that Americans have low moral
standards, that there are too many freedoms in the United States,
and that U.S. capitalism is harmful to Muslims.

Only 37% of Americans think Muslims are negative toward the
United States because Muslims see Americans as having weak family
values, while an even smaller 34% of Americans say that Muslim
perceptions of crime and violence in the United States are a cause
of their negative feelings. Least likely to cause Muslim antipathy,
Americans believe, is a perception that the United States does not
share its wealth enough with Muslim countries -- cited by just 28%
of Americans as a major reason.

Perceived Reasons for Muslims'
Unfavorable Opinions of the U.S.

March 1-3, 2002

The widespread American perception that Muslims feel the United
States is not fair in its dealings with the Arabs is strongly
supported by a Gallup poll of nine predominantly Islamic countries,
conducted this past December and January. Very few people in any of
those countries say the United States takes a fair position on the
conflict in Palestine, ranging from a low of 1% each in Morocco and
Kuwait, to a high of just 12% in Indonesia, the only country where
as many as one in 10 residents say the United States is fair.

Perhaps in response to increased news coverage about the
conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, or perhaps also in
response to U.S. actions in the war on terrorism, Americans have
become somewhat less supportive of U.S. foreign policy toward
Israel. Today, less than a majority (although still a plurality --
48%) say U.S. support of Israel is the right amount, down slightly
from 51% who took that position last December and down more
substantially from the 58% measured last October. The percentage of
Americans who feel U.S. support for Israel is "too much" has
increased from 29% last October to 38% today. These results do not
represent a major shift in public opinion, however, but rather a
gradual movement away from overwhelming support for Israel. The
current results show that despite the movement, almost six in 10
still say U.S. support is either the right amount (48%) or not
enough (11%).

Opinion of U.S. Support for Israel

These positive views toward Israel are also reflected in a
Gallup poll conducted Feb. 4-6, which shows that more than a
majority of Americans, 55%, say their sympathies are with the
Israelis, while just 14% say the Palestinians, and the rest express
no opinion one way or the other. Since Gallup began asking this
question in May 1988, sympathies have favored the Israelis by
margins of as little as 22 percentage points (37% to 15% in May
1988) to as high as 57 percentage points (64% to 7% during the Gulf
War, in February 1991). A month before the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States, Americans expressed their sympathies
for Israel by 41% to 13%. That ratio jumped to 55% to 7%
immediately after the attacks.

Survey Methods

Results for the U.S. population are based on telephone
interviews with 863 national adults, aged 18+, conducted March 1-3,
2002. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one
can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is
+/- 4 percentage points.

Results from predominantly Muslim countries are based on
in-person interviews conducted in nine countries between December
2001 and January 2002, with the following sample sizes and margins
of error:

Country

Sample Size

Margin of Error

Pakistan

2,043

±2%

Iran

1,501

±3%

Indonesia

1,050

±3%

Turkey

1,019

±3%

Lebanon

1,050

±3%

Morocco

1,000

±3%

Kuwait

790

±4%

Jordan

797

±4%

Saudi Arabia

754

±4%

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into
the findings of public opinion polls.

Slightly more Americans agree (52%) than disagree (45%) that the federal government is responsible for making sure all Americans have healthcare coverage. This balance of views is similar to last year.

Americans' daily self-reports of spending averaged $98 in November, up from $93 in October. The latest figure is the highest average recorded for the month of November since Gallup began tracking consumer spending in 2008.